Personal data is information that can be traced back directly or indirectly to an individual or group of individuals (the data subjects). It is therefore information that can identify a person.

A distinction is drawn between ordinary, sensitive, special and criminal data.
This distinction is important, because the consequences of infringement may differ depending on the type of personal data.

Ordinary personal data

Ordinary personal data is data which the Dutch judiciary uses to identify you and communicate with you. This includes, for example, your name, address, telephone number and email address.

Sensitive, special and criminal personal data

In court cases, the Dutch judiciary sometimes shares data that is particularly privacy-sensitive. The Dutch judiciary takes additional security measures to protect such data.

• Sensitive data includes, for example, financial data, such as your income, your Citizen Service Number (BSN), location data and information on children and other vulnerable groups. 
• Special personal data concerns a person's religion, race, health, sexuality, political preference, genetic and biometric data.
• Criminal personal data includes criminal offences and convictions.

​New European data protection rules come into force on 25 May 2018. These are set out in the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the directive on data protection in investigation and prosecution (the Directive). The Directive applies to personal data in criminal cases, while the GDPR applies to other types of data processing.

The previous Dutch Personal Data Protection Act (WPB) will lapse.

The Dutch judiciary processes various types of personal data, such as data concerning court cases, personnel data, financial data, visitor data and contact details for various purposes.

Handling of court cases

Court cases could not be handled without the use of personal data. Courts would be unable to handle your case properly and carefully without personal data. Litigants and their representatives, as well as witnesses and victims, must therefore supply personal data so that courts are able to reach an informed judgment.

Data sharing

In a court case, personal data is available to all parties to the proceedings. The professional parties involved, such as lawyers, also receive this personal data. In some court cases, the Dutch judiciary is obliged to share the verdict containing personal data with other government bodies, such as municipalities, the Public Prosecution Department (OM), the Central Judicial Collection Agency (CJIB), the Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) and the Council for Child Protection.

Registers

In certain cases, the Dutch judiciary is legally obliged to process personal data. These include recording matrimonial property agreements in the matrimonial property register or registering persons placed under receivership or administration in the receivership and administration register (CCBR). These registers are published at rechtspraak.nl.

Sickness or accident

If a person is taken ill or has an accident inside a court building, the Dutch judiciary will supply personal data to the carers as necessary to allow medical assistance to be given.

Scientific research and policy

Personal data may be used for the purposes of scientific research, statistics or the conduct of the Dutch judiciary’s policy. The Dutch judiciary then takes measures to ensure that the personal data used cannot be traced back to individuals.

Publication of judgments

Courts publish judgments that are important to society or legal practice on the website rechtspraak.nl. The Dutch judiciary redacts these judgments, deleting data that could identity the persons involved. The Dutch judiciary does that on the basis of agreed anonymization guidelines.

Appointment as an employee

The Dutch judiciary processes personal data in order to prepare or implement agreements for the appointment of employees.

Visits to the website

The Dutch judiciary keeps a record of how often the website rechtspraak.nl is visited and which pages are requested, in order to make the website as accessible as possible. The Dutch judiciary also uses cookies. Cookies enable the Dutch judiciary to recognize you as a visitor whenever you visit our website. That makes it possible to tailor the website to your preferences and/or to simplify the login process. For more information, see the cookie policy.

On the website, you can press the feedback button at the bottom of your screen to say what you think. The Dutch judiciary uses this feedback to improve the website. If the content concerns matters other than the operation of the website, the Dutch judiciary deletes the feedback from the recording system.

Social media

The Dutch judiciary uses social media, such as Facebook and Twitter. It does not impose any conditions concerning the use of social media, although the conditions of the social media platforms in question do apply. If you ask a question on social media, the Dutch judiciary will store that message and your account name in order to reply to your message. 

Use of Wi-Fi

When you visit a court building, you can use Wi-Fi. As soon as you are logged into the Wi-Fi network, the Dutch judiciary automatically receives data from you, such as the identification number (e.g. MAC address) of your device. The Dutch judiciary uses this data only to prevent any abuse and deletes it after one year. If you use the Wi-Fi network for illegal activities, the Dutch judiciary can block access from the device with which you are using our Wi-Fi network.

Newsletters

The Dutch judiciary issues newsletters to inform the public, professional parties and journalists about developments in the Dutch judiciary. The Dutch judiciary records the name and email address of the recipients and stores that data until such time as the recipient unsubscribes from a newsletter. An unsubscribe option is included with each newsletter.

If necessary, the Dutch judiciary records personal data in the Dutch judiciary’s recording systems. This could include your place of residence or lodging in order to contact you and establish your identity. The data concerned is described in the overview below. The Dutch judiciary also processes letters, documents and case files, for example to handle the substance of a court case.

Parties to a court case

Persons can be involved in a court case in different ways. In a criminal case, they may be involved as a suspect, victim, witness or injured party. In an administrative case, they may be involved as a party to the proceedings or as an interested party. And in a civil or family case, they may be involved as a plaintiff, respondent or defendant. Persons can also be involved in a court case as a professional party, for example as a representative of an administrative body, lawyer, receiver, expert witness or public prosecutor.

Victim or injured party

If you are involved in a court case as a victim or injured party, the Dutch judiciary records data such as your name, address, language, nationality, birth data and gender. Courts use this data to correspond with you and establish your identity.

Suspect or convicted person

In the case of suspects, the Dutch judiciary records not only data concerning identity and address, but also data such as the nature of the offence of which a person is suspected and any place of detention. The criminal justice system (SKN) and criminal justice system database (SKBD) numbers are also recorded.
These are unique identification numbers for suspects. If it is necessary to identify a suspect, the Criminal Justice Identification Programme is used. Verification then takes place at the front desk of the court based on fingerprints and the SKN number.

Receiver, administrator or mentor

If you are a receiver, administrator or mentor, the Dutch judiciary records data such as your name, gender, contact details and office details. Access or identification data is also recorded, such as the Chamber of Commerce number and data from the National Quality Agency for Receivership, Administration and Mentorship.

Plaintiff, respondent or defendant in a commercial or family case

If you are a plaintiff, respondent or defendant in a civil or family case, the Dutch judiciary records details such as your name, address, native language, nationality, birth data and gender. If you own a business, the Dutch judiciary also records the name of your business if necessary. If you are involved in a family case, the Dutch judiciary also records data concerning your partner or children if necessary. 

Foreign nationals

If you are involved in a case relating to your status as a foreign national, the Dutch judiciary records data such as your name, address, native language, nationality, country of origin, birth data and gender. The Dutch judiciary also records your alien registration number. The alien registration number is a unique identification number used by the Immigration and Naturalization Service to record your data. 

Lawyer, legal adviser or representative

If you are a lawyer or a representative, the Dutch judiciary records data such as your name, address, contact details, professional and office data, lawyer status, start date of lawyer status and date of swearing in.

Notary

In the case of notaries, the Dutch judiciary records the name, office address, place of business, gender, titles and profession.

Witness

If you are a witness, the Dutch judiciary records your name, address and contact details.

Interpreter or expert witness

If you are an interpreter or an expert, the Dutch judiciary records data such as your name, address, type of expertise and any office data.

Other categories of data subject

Applicants and employees

If you apply for employment in the Dutch judiciary, the Dutch judiciary temporarily records data such as your name, address, postal address, contact details, civil status and titles. If you become an employee of the Dutch judiciary, the Dutch judiciary also records data concerning your duties and, for example, your bank account number. 

Newsletter recipients

You can subscribe to newsletters yourself. The Dutch judiciary will then record your name and email address. You can unsubscribe from newsletters at any time.

Debtors and creditors

In order to ensure an efficient financial process, the Dutch judiciary records data such as your name, address and postal address. The case number is also recorded in order to collect court fees.

Journalists

Journalists can register with the courts using their name and contact details.

Court visitors

If you visit a court building, you may be required to sign in as a visitor. For this purpose, the Dutch judiciary records your name and possibly your contact details.

Other contacts

The Dutch judiciary records your data as follows, depending on the method by which you make contact: 

• If you telephone us: the Dutch judiciary records your name and telephone number and possibly other data, depending on your question. 
• If you write to us: the Dutch judiciary records your name and address as well as other data from your letter. 
• If you send us an email: the Dutch judiciary records your name and email address and other data which you share. 
• If you contact us on social media: the Dutch judiciary records the name you use on social media and other data you have shared with the Dutch judiciary.

An overview of all personal data processing operations by the Dutch judiciary can be found in the register of processing operations.

The Dutch judiciary:

• processes your personal data only for justified purposes specified by law
  The Dutch judiciary does not process any more data than is necessary to perform its statutory duties, such as handling court cases.
• takes measures to protect your personal data
  The Dutch judiciary protects your personal data against unauthorized access, loss or theft. This means the Dutch judiciary has taken appropriate measures to protect your data and regularly monitors the operation of these measures. 
• is transparent with regard to the processing of your personal data
  The purpose for which and the method by which the Dutch judiciary processes your personal data can be found in the privacy statement. The Dutch judiciary is accountable on these matters to the parties concerned, other interested parties and society as a whole. 
• records accurate personal data 
  The Dutch judiciary ensures that your personal data is correct. Any errors are corrected as soon as possible.
• retains your data no longer than necessary
  The Dutch judiciary stores your personal data and destroys it in accordance with the rules in the Public Records Act (nationaalarchief.nl in Dutch). These specify how long the personal data may be retained. If there is no statutory retention period, the Dutch judiciary will retain the data no longer than necessary.
• handles your data confidentially
  Employees have a confidentiality obligation and can only access personal data if they are authorized to do so. The Dutch judiciary discloses no personal data unless disclosure is necessary to implement an agreement or comply with the law. When doing so, it verifies the identity of the requesting party and checks whether he/she has appropriate authorization. 
• keeps your data secure
  The Dutch judiciary has taken measures to protect your personal data against loss and unlawful processing. The Dutch judiciary treats all information confidentially and stores it on secure servers. The Dutch judiciary complies with the Government’s rules and standards on information security.
• enters into sound agreements with external suppliers
  If external parties manage personal data on behalf of the Dutch judiciary, the Dutch judiciary enters into sound agreements to monitor and protect the privacy of your personal data. The Dutch judiciary remains responsible for this processing and regularly checks compliance with these agreements by the supplier.

You have the following rights with regard to the processing of your personal data:

• Right to details of the personal data which the Dutch judiciary records about you
• Right to inspect records or case files containing your personal data
• Right to correct, restrict or delete personal data
• Right to the transmissibility of personal data
• Right to oppose the processing of personal data
• Right to withdraw consent for processing
• Right to lodge a complaint concerning the processing of personal data

If your question concerns a court case, your rights are limited. For example, it is not possible to request a copy of your entire file, to correct the content of your court case or to contest it by invoking the aforementioned privacy rights. The legal procedure itself is intended for this purpose.

Privacy request form

You can send the privacy request form (pdf, 646,1 KB) by post to the court in which your case was heard or to the Council for the Judiciary.

• The Dutch judiciary addresses

NB: not for regular inspection of the file in a current court case
The privacy request form is not intended for “regular inspection” of the file in a current court case. In that case, you or your lawyer can file a request for “regular inspection” directly with the court in which your case is being heard.

• Addresses of the Dutch judiciary

The Dutch judiciary Servicecentre

If you have any questions concerning the form or the handling of your request, you can also call the Dutch judiciary Servicecentre (RSC). The RSC can be contacted between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. on the telephone number +31 88 361 61 61, or via social media; Twitter or Facebook. Be careful when sharing personal information on social media.

Identification requirement

The Dutch judiciary records a large volume of sensitive data. It therefore needs to be certain who you are before it releases information to you or modifies data. You will therefore be asked to go to the front desk to prove your identity by means of a valid identity document.

Costs

The Dutch judiciary will not in principle levy any charge for the handling of your request. However, if your request is very extensive, you may be asked to pay a reasonable fee. This will be depend on the size of the request.

Instructions on completing the PDF form

You can complete the PDF form (pdf, 646,1 KB) electronically or by hand. This is done as follows.

Completing the PDF form electronically:

1. Download the privacy request form (pdf, 646,1 KB) and save it to your computer.

2. Open the form on your computer in Acrobat Reader.

3. Complete the form and save it again on your computer.

4. Print out the completed form.

5. Sign the form. 

6. Send the completed and signed form.

Completing the PDF form by hand:

1. Open the privacy request form (pdf, 646,1 KB).
2. Print the form out.
3. Complete the form by hand in blue or black ink. 
4. Sign the form. 
5. Send the completed and signed form. 

Would you like to submit a complaint about the processing of your personal data by the judicial system or because you are dissatisfied with how a request in connection with your personal data has been handled? If so, you can submit a complaint to the appropriate supervisory body.

For complaints about the processing of your personal data in court cases, you can submit a complaint to the Procurator General at the Supreme Court. Click here for contact details, in Dutch (hogeraad.nl).

For complaints about the processing of your personal data in all other situations, you can submit a complaint to the Data Protection Authority. Click here for the contact details of the Dutch Data Protection Authority (autoriteitpersoonsgegevens.nl) (Dutch) .

For the administrative councils (the Administrative Jurisdiction Division of the Council of State, the Central Appeals Tribunal and the Trade and Industry Appeals Tribunal), supervision is delegated to the newly set up "GDPR committee for administrative councils". This is subject to a separate arrangement which is explained on the websites of the various councils.